Black History at BC Law

13 Black students posed together for a graduation photo with a caption reading Class of 1978

Fourteen Black students graduated BC Law in 1978 (13 pictured here).

BC Law has a rich history of Black excellence and leadership, though it was slow to build and continues to be written and enriched. Between BC Law鈥檚 founding in 1929 and 1960, four African-American men (no women) earned law degrees: Hon. Harold A. Stevens 鈥�36, Thomas M. Simmons 鈥�56, Henry Quarles, Jr. 鈥�59, and Hon. David S. Nelson 鈥�60. Portraits of Justices Stevens and Nelson hang in the hallways of Stuart Hall.听

During the early 1960s, Dean Robert F. Drinan, S.J., became focused on the shortage of qualified African-American attorneys and the lack of opportunities for non-white people to pursue a legal education. He committed to fulfilling the school鈥檚 mission of educating lawyers who worked for social justice and reform and having the law school community reflect the world's rich diversity.

By the late 1960s, partly due to Father Drinan鈥檚 active recruitment efforts, the ball had started rolling. The entering 1L class in the fall of 1966 included six African-American students鈥攆our men and two women鈥攎ore than all prior years combined.

Incoming Black BC Law students pose in a backyard

Incoming 1Ls gather at the BAN & BLSA welcome BBQ in 2021.

The numbers of diverse students have increased since then, though there have been times when the numbers were unacceptably low and Black students were not properly represented in their classes or in the community around them. Tremendous efforts have been made, often led by Black students and alumni, to prevent this lack of representation and to keep progressing toward that vision of rich diversity.听The class of 2024, which has 40 Black students, the most in BC Law's history, is a testament to those continuing efforts.

This site is an opportunity to honor and document this rich history and to celebrate the decades of contributions from Black BC Law community members as student leaders, educators, academics, judges, activists, litigators, transactional attorneys, visionaries, and everything in between and beyond.

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Highlight: Professor Ruth-Arlene Howe

For more than 30 years, Professor Ruth-Arlene Howe '74 鈥� BC Law's first tenured Black professor and co-founder of the Black Alumni Network (BAN) 鈥� helped lead the school to new heights. She is a renowned scholar, a cherished mentor to generations of students, and an influential member of the greater 艾可直播 legal community and beyond. Learn more about her remarkable story and legacy.